Shell for high explosives.



He. $72,828. v mew-a m Apr. 23, mm. 1.. amwwmma. SHELL FOR HIGHEXPLMSWEQ (Application filed Apr. 27,1899.

(No Model.)

Patented Am. 23, mm.

. L. GATHMANN.

SHELL FOR HIGH EXPLUSIVES.

(Application filed Apr. 27, 1599.;

2 Sheets Sheet 2.

3i 3' fuse-stock a is screwed.

SHELL FOR HIGHJEXIPILLCSIVESQ To all whom, it m concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIs GATHMANN, of hicago, in the county of Cook andState of aiiinois, have invented certain new and usei'ullrnprovements inShells for High Exploantics, of which the following is a specification.V Th s invention relates-to shells for high e plosives, and has foritsobjectto provide means whereby the fuse or detonating charge in maybe positively separated and isolated from the main or bursting charge ofthe shell prior to its discharge from the gun and may be positivelymoved from its separated'or isolated position -into close proximity tosaid 2;; bursting charge. after the discharge of theshell from the gun,v

To these ends my invention consists incertain novel features which Iwill now proceed.

, to'describe and will then particularly point out in the claims. 1

1nthe accompanyinlgidrawings, Figure l is. a longitudinal sectionalview, partly broken away, of a shell embodying my invention in one form;and Fig. 2 is a similar view of the forward portion or head of a shellembodying my invention in a modified form.

Referring first to the construction shown in .Fig; 1 of the drawings,lindicates the body ofthe shelhwhich, may be of anysuitable constructionadapted for use in connection with high Kplosives. This shell contains abursting charge 2, of wet guncotton or the like, and

is closed'at its base by means of a'base-plng 3, having a centralopening, into which the The fuse as a whole is indicated by thereference-numeral 5 and comprises "a blocker shutter 6, of comparativelythick met-ah and a fuse-case 7', of thin metal, connected therewith andcontaining'a charge 8 of dry gun'cotton or the like: 'Within this fuseis located a tubular stock 9, in which v moves the detonator-plunger 10,carrying the charge of fnlminate l1 and its'cap 12 and heid in positionby a suitable break-pin '13. 45 The fuse is provided at its rear endwith an opening closed by a plug 14, and the fuse stock or chamber 4 isprovided at its rear end with a similar or larger opening closed by ascrew;plug.15, this latter opening being large enough to permit thepassage of the detonator rand of the screw-plug 14, so thatthe chargeronrnno GUN'COMPANY, or SAME PLACE} S IYEGIFICATION forming part ofLetters. Patent No. 672,828, dated April Application filed April 27} 1899- Serial influenza. (No model.)

of fu'lmtnate may be insere into thevshell; after all the, other partsiarevassembledian immediately before thefpl-acirfg-o thesheillti in thegun. a 5 There is formed throng ,:the:stobk:4,'base;-:' plug 3, andcharge 2 a fuseway 'ifig throughgz m; which the fuse may travel;azp'ontion olf said fuseway being formed byw-a tubular shell-l,7 securedto the base-plug 3 audeXtending inward therefrom along-the fuseway 16for a portion-only 'of its distance" -t=i Atiitswforward endthis-tubular shell l7'vis providedwithia cap or cover 18, havingafricti'on'al conne tion with the shell, so as t 'o normallyclose65 theforward end thereofg-but be free to slip-* from its position and moreropvratd aion with the fusewhen sufficient brought to bear upon it Inorder to impart to" Ire ruse forward movementafterthe dischargeoftheshell from the gun, the fuse is .providedwitha threaded portion,whichfinthe construction shown in; Fig.1 isin the f d'rhi fof"a' rod'l9ffl which extends forwardthroli'gh suitable aperture-in the cap 18andtliro'ugh passage or Way 20, formed through ges; 8 rod extending toand thi'o gl end of the shell and bei'ii vided with a fan 0 "thereon." vThe shell thus constr cted following manner: Before go the gun thedetonat-inglchargehis separated E from'the main orbu'rsting charge,lying, as it 5 "does, atsome-distancetherefrom andon'tside of the bodyof the shell and b'eingad 'allyseparated or 'isolated -by'fthe b1 I.rier 6, which lies betweenIthddetnnatln' bursting charges, sothatflanyiprematu accidental explosion'of the detonating r prop eiwill'not aifect the main tqrsnngfclfm I will not cause the explosion ofthis latter and of the shell. The parts are held firmlyin this positionby reason of the rod 19, which by reason of its threaded engagement.with the forwardiend of theshellprevents any accidental bringingtogether of the fuse and bursting charge by a direct forward move mentof the former. After the discharge of the. shell from the gun, however,the fan wheel or propeller vmeets with resistance from the atmosphereduring the flightof the shell and is caused thereby to rotate, thusimparting a rotary motion -to .the rod l9. Owing to the threadedengagement of this latter with a threaded portion of the shell, the rod19 moves forward relatively to the body of the shell during suchrotation, and in thus'moving forward carries forward with it the fuseand brings 'thislatter into immediate proximity to the bursting chargewithin the shelL- During this forward movement of the fuse it'com'estincontactwith the cap 18,

I in case this latter is employed, and carries' the sameforward withit,-so that there is nothing interposed between the detonatingcharge'andglgurstii'ig charge except the extremely thin wall of m'etalof the shell 7, so that an ie'fl'ective detonation may be readilyproduced. This detonation occursupon the:

contact oflthe shell with any resisting object: by the forward movementof the detonatingplunger'andtheconsequent explosion of its cap andfulmin'ate,-thereby exploding the det- Yonating charge and-effecting theexplosion of the main or'bursting charge of the shell.

. The construction hereinbefore described is one-adapted for use in ashell in which the fuse is located at the base of the shell; butmyinvention is equally applicable to the type of shell in which the fuseis located at the front 'end or headthereof; and in Fig. 2 of thedrawings I have shown a construction embodying my invention in thisform.

In this 1 constructions, threaded opening 26 is formed in the fro'ntendor point of the shell, and the body of the fuse, which is indicated at27, is

threaded externally, as indicated at 28, to fit .within said threadedopening. This fuse has a fuse-chamber containing a charge of drygun'e0tton'29, and the detonator. 30 is mountedina tube or stock .31,having thin lateral walls and extending into the charge 29, thedetonator being held in position by a break-pin 32 and being providedwith a'cap 33 on its front-end. The fuse is provided at its forward endwith a wind-wheel or fan s, which in the present instanceis shown not asa propeller-wheel, as in the case of the construction shownin Fig. 1,but as a 'fanwheel, having its vanes at rightangles to the plane ofitsbody, or, in other words, to its plane of rotation. The fuseway 35extends rearward from the threaded opening 20' into the body. of thecharge 2 and may be inclosed in a thin case 36, of metal, such asbrass,- which is easily ruptured. The base of the Fuse is thickened toform a partition, separating the detonating charge from the burstingcharge, of the shell, as indicatedat 37, and

thereisjprovided an aperture closed by}; screw-plug 38 and giving accessto the detonato'r and its tube or stock. The shell thus constructedoperates in the following mam" ner: The normal position of theparts'before firing is that shown in the drawings, in which thedetonating charge is separated and isolated from the. bursting charge ofthe shell not'only by being located outward beyond the same, but also bythe interposition between the two of the block or partition 37,

which is formed by the thickened base of the fuse. .Upon thedischarge ofthe shell from the gun, however, the vanes of the wheel 34 encounter theresistance of the air as the shell rotates on its axis, and the entirefuse is thus caused to rotate relatively to the shell and to be screwedback into the fusewayuntil it a ssumes a position within the body of"the shell and with the detonating charge in immediate juxtaposition tothe bursting charge of the shell. When th shell strikes. 3 a resistingobject, the detonato' is released bythe fracture of its break-pin, and,moving forward, explodes the detonating charge, and

consequently the bursting charge of the shell.

' I do not wish to be understood aslimit-ing my invent/Yon to theprecise detailshereinbefore set forth. For instance, although I'haveshown in Fig. 1 a particular form of fuse,

the resistance of the air, which serves to 9.0- i i tuate the threadedrotary portion of the fuse,

is obtained by reason of the forward motion of the shell or by reason ofits rotary motion a'round'its axis, the essential feature being that thenormally-isolated fuse shall-have a threaded portion engaging with athreaded portion of the shell to produce a longitudinal movement of thefuse relatively to the shell Again, although I have and a part, such asa wind-wheel, exposed to the external atmosphere and adapted by theresistance thereof to impart a r.otary-mo-- tion to the threaded portionof the fuse, and

thereby cause longitudinal motion of the fuse proper. It is obviouslyimmaterial whether the threaded portion be formed upon the body of thefuse itself or whether it be formed upon an extension or rod connectedwith the fuse, and thus becoming, so far as its operative effect isconcerned, a portion of the fuse.

1. In a shell for high explosives, the combination, with a shell-bodyhaving a threaded portion, of a fuse provided with acorrespondingly-thraaded portion to engage that of the shell and by itsrotation relatively to the shell-body, move the fuse longitudinally,and.

int'oj uxtaposition to the burstingeharge, sub-.

stantially as described. 2. In a shell for high explosives, thecombination, with a shell-body having a threaded portion, of a fuseprovided with a portion correspondingly threaded to engage the threadedportion of the shelland adapted when rotated relatively to the shelhbodyto move the fuse longitudinally, and a wind-wheel connected with saidthreaded portion and exposed to the resistance of the'external air, saidwind-wheel being adapted by reason of such resistance to impart a rotarymovement to the threaded portion of the fuse relatively to theshell-body, whereby the detonating charge is brought into juxtapositionto the bursting charge, substantially as described.

3. In a shell for high explosives, the combination,witl1 a shell-bod ycontaining a bursting charge and provided with a threaded aperture atits forward end, of afuse longitudinally movable relatively to theshell-body and provided with a threaded portion to engage the threadedaperture of the shell-body, and with an exposed wind-wheel adapted to beactuated by atmospheric resistance, said fuse having its deionatingcharge normally separated from the bursting charge of the vshell andbeing moved longitudinally by the rotation of its threaded partrelatively to the shell-body to bring the detonating charge into p1niimity to said bursting charge, wherep by the detonating charge isbrought-into jux-' .taposition to: the bursting charge, substantially.as described. I

4:. In a shell for high; explosives, the com;

bination, with a shell-body provided with a threaded aperture at itsforward end, a burstingcharge, and afu'seway extending through its baseand into the bursting charge, of a fuse longitudinally movable insaidfuseway and provided with a forwardly cxtended portion threaded to fitthe aperture of the shell-body, and a windwheel connected with saidthreaded portion and exposed to atmospheric resistance, whereby thedetonating charge is brought into juxtaposition to'the bursting charge,substantially as described.

5. In a shell for high explosives,-thc combination, with a shell-bodyhaving an aperture in its forward end, a bursting charge, and a fusewayat its rear end, of a fuse longitudinally movable in said fuseway andprovided with a forwardly-extending rod threaded-to fit the aperture inthe shell-body and extending beyond the same, and a propeller-wheelsecured onthe forward end of said rod'and adapted to be rotatedrelativelyto the shellhody by the atmospheric resistance due to theforward rnotion of the shell, whereby the detonating charge is broughtinto juxtaposition to the bursting charge, substantially as described.

LOUIS GATHMA'NN.

Witnesses: I

E1111. GATHMANN, WM. H. MCGRANN.

